PETA’s pal Moby once told Quartz that a leather couch makes him think of Christian Bale in American Psycho or a bad recording studio in 1985. If you haven’t seen American Psycho, well, trust me: It’s creepy and disturbing—just like a sofa made from animal skins.
Thankfully, it’s easy to choose vegan interior design by finding stylish and sturdy vegan furniture, made from microfibers or otfobher vegan fabrics. Making Kind Choices by PETA President Ingrid Newkirk includes a chapter called “Kindness by Design: Creating and Furnishing a Humane Home.” It contains helpful tips for people who want a leather-free home that reflects their compassionate values as well as their sense of style.
Obviously, if you care about animals, you’ll want to avoid leather and suede, along with wool, silk, and down (not to mention animal trophy heads, unless you want to be mistaken for Walter Palmer). Luckily, many furniture brands offer animal-free options. After hearing from PETA, home goods retailer Povison Furniture confirmed that it’s down-free.
We can’t forget dining! Not only does Von Holzhausen make beautiful bags, they have also extended their humane designs into the dining room. Its stylish and modern touch will look great in your home and make you feel great, too. Designs are water-resistant, stain-resistant, scratch-resistant, animal-free, and lightweight, and they have a low carbon footprint. Get elegance and style without cruelty.
There are tons of gorgeous vegan homeware lines, including this stunning one created by actor Minnie Driver, which is completely down-free. If there is down in your furniture, pillows, or other decor, it means you’re supporting the abuse of sensitive birds. Spare ducks and geese the misery of being plucked by choosing down-free options such as those available from One Kings Lane. We love its mix of classic British designs and eclectic prints.
If you like the look of a leather couch but don’t want to support cruelty to animals, simply choose a sofa made from high-quality vegan synthetic leather. Instead of silk curtains or sheets, choose cotton, linen, polyester, or other attractive and affordable fabrics. (One of my craftier colleagues even made her own DIY curtains.) More and more popular retailers, including Pottery Barn, Restoration Hardware, and Crate and Barrel, now offer down-free bedding or throw pillows, and rugs made from Tencel, acrylic, or other synthetic materials are elegant and tend to cost less than those made from wool.
If you’re in need of a professional touch, Deborah DiMare of DiMare Design is a “PETA-Approved Vegan” home interior consultant, and Shannon Scott of Shannon Scott Design says that making a home vegan doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive.
People who have the resources to remodel might also want to look into sustainable wood and other animal-friendly materials, like acrylics from PETA Business Friend Falken Design. The book—which also includes tips on creating a natural garden to attract birds and butterflies, designing an eco- and animal-friendly bathroom, choosing cruelty-free cleaning products, and much more—can help you create a humane home, entertain with ethics, and go vegan. So ditch the leather and other animal skins and don’t remind anyone of a psychopath!
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